


See How Close I Can Get (Without Giving In)

by helens78



Series: Shameless [6]
Category: Establishment RPF
Genre: Collars, Dominance/submission, M/M, negotiation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 14:43:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/pseuds/helens78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason calls Bill to ask for a favor or two; Bill isn't happy to hear what Jason's about to do, but he helps anyway.  And then contracts are signed, and a collaring happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	See How Close I Can Get (Without Giving In)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Telesilla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telesilla/gifts).



> For the [](http://random-fic-is-random.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**random_fic_is_random**](http://random-fic-is-random.dreamwidth.org/) New Year's comment fic challenge. This was for [](http://telesilla.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**telesilla**](http://telesilla.dreamwidth.org/)'s prompt "Liam/Jason, distance".
> 
> There's a lost scene in the endnotes here!

Jason paces for a few minutes in his room, phone in hand. He doesn't really need to worry about packing--the staff here will see to that--but he does have to get in touch with a lawyer, and he needs to set up a safe call. He can see to both at once, if he can get over the nervousness about making this particular phone call.

He sighs. This isn't going to go well.

Bill picks up right away, which is something, at least. "Jason, hey, what's up?"

_Oh, things are up, all right._ Jason glances down at himself; he's been half-hard, on and off, since he and Liam parted. They'll be meeting up in two hours to settle the paperwork. It's actually getting kind of irritating. "I could say 'nothing', but that's not true. Do you have a minute?"

"Of course. Always. What can I do for you?"

_How the hell do I put this? How do I put it in a way that won't make you start screaming?_ "Well, I've met someone. I should say, I've _re-_met someone; we've known each other a while, but only just reconnected."

"Hey, that's great--congratulations."

"You might not want to congratulate me yet. This is complicated."

Bill hesitates, and when he starts talking again, Jason can hear how his guard's gone up. "Okay," he says. "Complicated how?"

"He offered me a contract."

"He--okay, wow. Wow. Are you thinking about it?"

_Wow_ is so much better than some of the other things Bill could've said that Jason actually lets himself feel some relief. "More than thinking. I'm going to take him up on it."

"Oh--okay, all right. Okay. For how long?"

"Three months."

"Not that long, then."

"No. Do you mind if I borrow Pierce? I could use a lawyer for all the paperwork."

"Sure, no problem. When do you need him?"

Jason exhales softly between his teeth. _Here we go._ "Right now."

"Okay. Give me two minutes to get him on his way, and I'll call you right back. You want him sent over to Eclipse?"

"Please."

"You got it. Be right back."

Jason hears the soft click of being put on hold, and he starts pacing again. So far so good, but Bill doesn't know half of it yet. Jason sighs. _You're stalling, Isaacs._

But he doesn't get much longer to stall; Bill's back in no time. "Got it. He's on his way now."

"Thank you. I'd also like to arrange a safe call, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me ask Sean to step in for that."

"I--sure, of course, no problem." There's an awkward pause--Jason can just imagine Bill shifting his weight from side to side and squinting out at nothing--and then Bill asks one of those questions Jason's been dreading. "You mind if I ask why?"

"I don't mind, but I'm not sure you're going to like the answer."

_Red alert, shields up._ The conversation shifts; there's tension humming in the airwaves now. Jason can feel it.

"Why not?"

"Because of who I'm going into this contract with."

"Who could you possibly--" Bill cuts off so abruptly that for a moment Jason's afraid he's hung up, but then he hears muted cursing in the background; apparently Bill just took the phone away from his ear so he could at least tone down the explosion. Jason supposes he appreciates the effort. "Neeson? You're going to spend three months with Neeson?"

"Yes."

The effort it must take for Bill to bite his tongue here--now there's something Jason can appreciate. "Okay," Bill says. His voice has gone low and growling, and Jason suspects he can't help it. "Okay, after what I went through with Christian, after what it took to get Sean here, I can't exactly tell you that you don't know what you're doing or that you don't know what you want. But--Jesus, three _months_? Are you sure about this?"

"I really am," Jason murmurs. _God, I hope you believe that._ "For one thing, he's paying me a hell of a lot of money."

"Oh, good, that makes it better."

"Hey." Jason frowns. "Watch it."

"No, sorry, sorry..." Bill sighs. "I'm gonna be up nights worrying about you. You know that, right?"

"I do know that," Jason says, wincing. "That's why I want Sean to be my safe call. I don't want you growling in my ear every morning--or every night, whatever's convenient for Sean--"

"You two can work that out in a minute."

"--and let's face it: if you're the one on the phone with me, you're going to be picking apart everything I say and trying to figure out what my tone means, and Christ, Bill, I love you to death, but I can't deal with that on top of being with Liam."

"I get it," Bill says, and thank God, he sounds like he actually does. He sounds exhausted, but he sounds like he understands. "It's--I'm not gonna say 'it's fine', but I get it. I just..." He sighs again. "I need to know, man--if I asked Christian about bringing you home, if it's just wanting to have people who can put you down hard..."

"It isn't just that," Jason says. "If it were only that, I'd have already come by and spent time with the three of you."

"If I just--I know so many guys, so many people who'd be thrilled to have you."

_And none of them have ever looked at me the way Liam was looking at me today._ "It isn't just that," Jason repeats. "I want--I need something--" He groans, rubbing at his eyes, wondering if he can blame the sting in them on garlic oil this time, too. "It's more than that. I have to do this."

"Okay," Bill murmurs. "Okay. Let me hand the phone off to Sean, then. You need to get that safe call set up."

"Yeah. Thank you."

"Jason?" Bill pauses. "Good luck."

It's more than Jason expected; he blinks a few times and nods. "Thank you."

* * *

 

Jason's been to enough closings to know that there are no rules, really, for how an owner and a slave should behave at them. He's spent some closings hanging all over his future owner, and at some of them he was meeting his owner for the first time. There have been some that closed by proxy, which always makes the first meeting with the actual owner a bit nervewracking--signing a contract before you even know whether you have chemistry with someone, before you even know if you're attracted to them... it's difficult.

Liam and his lawyer are at one end of the table; Jason and Bill's lawyer are at the other. All four of them are in suits; the only one not wearing a tie is Liam's lawyer, Ms. Fiorentino. Bill's lawyer is confident and professional--Jason's worked with him in the past--and he's not the least bit intimidated by Liam or Ms. Fiorentino, thank God. Then again, Liam's not exactly looming, and the contract is straightforward. The details were mostly up to Jason, and if anyone's going to be knocked off-balance by them, it's Liam.

And Liam does look a little off-balance by the time he and his lawyer have read through the contract. Jason can tell the exact moment Liam gets to the "permanent injury" section; he watches Liam read a page, then stop short and read it again, slower. He looks up at Jason, and Jason looks right back at him, trying very hard to give off the impression that he's calm and serene about this.

The permanent piercing clause, the tattoo clause, the scarring clause, all of them are normally listed as "unavailable". Jason's contract reads "locations covered by reasonable clothing only". He'd tried to get Pierce to leave them off altogether, but Pierce had flatly refused, instead directing Jason to specify a location. Jason supposes he has a point. Thank God for non-disclosure agreements; if this got back to Bill... Jason doesn't want to think about it.

"Everything's in order," Ms. Fiorentino says. She looks at Liam. "Any changes?"

"No," Liam murmurs. "I'll sign."

Jason's signature is already on all the documents, so it's just a matter of having Liam sign, initial, and date everything, too. It takes a good five minutes, but then Ms. Fiorentino stands up and brings a copy of the contract over to Pierce.

"Thank you," Pierce says. "I'll have this copied and filed."

"Great. And hey, it's good to see you again," she tells him, extending a hand; they shake hands briefly, and then she's finished. She goes back to Liam's end of the table and takes a flat, square case out of her briefcase, which she sets in front of Liam; it's about twenty centimeters to a side, but only about four centimeters high. Jason's not going to let himself speculate about what's in it.

Liam nods at her, and she packs up her briefcase up and goes.

Pierce rests a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Is there anything else you need?" he murmurs.

"No. Thank you."

"Someone would kick my teeth in if I didn't ask." Pierce squeezes gently. "Good luck."

Jason nods, and then Pierce goes, too, quietly closing the door behind him.

The conference table is only about twenty feet long. It feels like a mile--and Jason's not entirely sure he's ready to close the distance just yet. He takes a few slow breaths, trying to stay calm. It occurs to him afterward that Liam's doing the same thing, and that Liam isn't moving, either.

"Well," Jason says. "So we're actually doing this."

"So we are."

Jason raises an eyebrow. "What next, then?"

Liam picks up the box and stands; Jason doesn't want to be at any more of a disadvantage than he needs to be, than Liam's going to order him to be, so he stands, too. They meet halfway, and Liam glances down at the box one more time before looking at Jason and drawing himself up to his full height--which is pretty damned impressive. All right, _now_ he's looming.

"This is for you." Liam offers Jason the box. Jason takes it, one eyebrow raised, looking at Liam as he slides the top off--and then he glances down, realizing what the size and shape probably mean.

He's right. It's a collar. Steel, polished, thin, all the edges rounded so the two-centimeter band won't cut into Jason's throat. It's heavier than it looks. It has a padlock on it already, and Liam lifts the collar out of the case so he can press his thumb to the biosensor on the lock. The lock falls open with a quiet _click_, and Liam slips the padlock free.

There's no hinge; Liam's going to have to bend it open and shut again. There's also no emergency release of any sort, which makes Jason uneasy--where uneasy means he's hard to the point of nearly being lightheaded. "Does that come off again once it's on?" Jason asks quietly.

"Unless it's putting you in danger, no."

"And the lock is keyed to your print only?"

"Yes."

"May I touch it?"

Liam hands over the collar, and Jason holds it in his hands, getting to know the weight and feel of it. His measurements are in the system, but this isn't an off-the-rack item. Jason looks up at Liam again. "How long have you had this?"

Liam doesn't answer right away. Jason doesn't press him, but he doesn't stop looking at him, either. Finally, Liam sighs.

"I had it made four years ago. But by the time it was finished, it was too late."

Jason nods--four years ago, when Bill severed their contract, when Jason was in flux for just over three weeks before Viggo stepped in and offered him a port in what felt like a gale-force storm.

"You could have asked for me without the collar."

"The collar wasn't what stopped me, at the time."

Jason finds himself nodding again. Four years ago--he doesn't know what he could have offered Liam four years ago. He knows it wouldn't have been the same thing then as it was a year before that, the week they spent together; he knows it wouldn't have been the same thing as it is today. He wonders what Liam would have had to offer then. What he's got to offer now.

They'll both be finding out soon enough.

He loosens his tie and unfastens the first two buttons on his shirt. The collar looks like it'll lay flat enough to wear under clothes. Once he's got his shirt open, he hands the collar back to Liam. "If you're ready now--Master."

Liam's hands are trembling all over again as he fits the collar on. The padlock goes on in front, and the fit is perfect--the collar sits just at the bottom of Jason's neck, and as heavy as it feels, it isn't too much.

When Liam snaps the padlock on, though, Jason reaches up and puts his hand on Liam's. He holds Liam there, and Liam doesn't protest.

This might be the last time Jason's on his feet in front of Liam like this, or the last time in these next three months. It might be the last time he can reach out and touch without asking permission first. Hell, it might be the last time he's got his clothes on, the last time he's not sore anywhere, the last time Liam looks as scared and nervous as Jason feels.

There's no space between them, and Jason wants to remember what it's like.

"All right," Jason murmurs. "Three months, Master. I'm all yours."

_-end-_

**Author's Note:**

> _I thought the flow of the story itself was a little better if I cut the phone call where I did, but I'd written about half the Sean scene before I decided to make the cut. I decided to finish it up and post it here -- there's just enough room in one of these endnotes to add it on as an extra. :)_
> 
> **The Safe Call**
> 
> Jason takes a breath and sighs it out himself this time, and he takes a seat on the couch, grateful the hard part's over. He hears a soft murmur of voices, then footsteps, then a door closing. "Jason?"
> 
> "Sean. Hi."
> 
> "What the hell's going on? Bill looks..." Sean trails off. "Are you all right?"
> 
> "I'm fine, but Bill's going to be panicky for a few days. I'm sorry about that."
> 
> Sean snorts. "If it's not one of them, it's the other. What is it?"
> 
> "A man I have some history with came by today. He wants me under contract for three months, and God help me, I want to do it. So I--"
> 
> "Wait--contract? As in--you're going to go back to slavery?"
> 
> "Only for a little while," Jason says, gripping the phone harder. _Just a little while. Three months. Ninety days._ "Three months."
> 
> Sean whistles, long and low. "Must be someone special."
> 
> Jason laughs. "Well, something like that."
> 
> "Is this anyone I know?"
> 
> "I doubt it. Liam Neeson?"
> 
> "Doesn't ring a bell."
> 
> "It would, if you'd ever met him. Irish. Tall, broad, Bill's age, blue eyes--"
> 
> "--huge hands?" Sean asks. "Likes boots and young boys who aren't broken in yet, cruel as hell, never gets tired?"
> 
> Jason's stomach turns over. _Shit. Am I jealous? Of Sean? Have I gone crazy?_ "You do know him."
> 
> "Well, I've sure as hell seen him. I think... I _might_ have seen Christian talking to him once. Maybe. But I've never got near him. Bill wouldn't let me." The pieces drop into place; even over the phone, Jason can hear them. "Well, that explains why he's so freaked out. What sort of history do you two have?"
> 
> There's no possible way to answer that question. Jason shakes his head. "He wanted me, and I was very attracted to him, so he and Bill made an arrangement. Liam got me for a week. It was..." _It was pain and need and coming until I was sore and being pissed on and laughed at and made to beg until I forgot who I was under all that need._ Jason shakes his head again. If anyone in that house is going to understand it, it's Sean, but he can't. He can't talk about it. "I was relieved not to have the opportunity to be with him again. I kept right on being relieved until today. And now--"
> 
> "Now you want it," Sean murmurs. "All right. What can I do?"
> 
> "Will you be my safe call?"
> 
> "Absolutely," Sean says. Jason exhales a breath he didn't even realize he was holding in; it is _so damned good_ to have Sean in his life. Sean is responsible and trustworthy and he's not going to judge Jason for what he's doing, and right now Jason needs that more than anything. "What sort of codeword rotation do you want?"
> 
> "Nothing standard. Liam would recognize it." Jason grimaces to himself; he hates having to have codewords, but he also knows how close he came to using one five years ago. This is twelve weeks, not one. He can't afford to take chances.
> 
> "There are a few new ones up on the boards. Do you have time to look them over before you're off to Liam's?"
> 
> "Yes. I'll pick one out and send you an email."
> 
> "Fine. That should be fine, then. What time are we going to do these safe calls?"
> 
> "Morning. Eight."
> 
> "Early," Sean says, but he doesn't sound resentful. "All right. Ten minutes' grace time; is that enough?"
> 
> "Yes. Thank you."
> 
> "Can I ask..." When Jason doesn't say anything one way or the other, Sean goes on. "Do you think he'll make you happy?"
> 
> The thought's so absurd Jason laughs out loud. "Were you expecting to find someone who'd make you happy, when you first got to Eclipse?"
> 
> Sean's silent for a while; thoughtful, maybe. "I understand," he says. "But I _am_ happy, now. I was ready to let them give that to me."
> 
> "It's not the same for me," Jason says, "but if you want to wish me luck, I won't turn it down."
> 
> "Good luck," Sean says immediately. "Godspeed and good luck."
> 
> "Thanks, Sean. You'll hear from me tomorrow."


End file.
